Select Board taps Brendan Sweeney as town manager

IPSWICH — The Select Board on Thursday voted unanimously to offer the town manager position to Brendan Sweeney.

Sweeney edged out fellow finalist Steve Bartha, Lexington’s town manager. A third candidate, West Newbury Town Manager Angus Jennings, withdrew from consideration Wednesday evening after accepting a position as business manager at Whittier Tech.

An Ipswich High School graduate whose parents still live in town, Sweeney has served for nearly four years as Boxford’s assistant town administrator and finance director.

He also served on the Beverly City Council from 2022 to 2025 and mounted an unsuccessful challenge last year against 12-year incumbent Mayor Mike Cahill.

At a recent meet-and-greet with residents, Sweeney pointed to his “deep roots” in Ipswich, noting that he worked at Town Hall as a summer camp counselor in high school and later volunteered on the Government Study Committee before moving to Beverly.

“Local government is the level of government where you can have the greatest positive impact on your friends, your family, and your neighbors,” he said during the meet-and-greet. “It’s really an honor to be here as one of the candidates under consideration to be Ipswich’s next town manager. I feel like it’s coming full circle here.”

This is a developing story. A more detailed report will follow.